Brian Kelly confirms Jayden Daniels will play against Tennessee, despite injury

In what seems to be a common them among SEC West teams, another quarterback got hurt on Saturday. LSU‘s Jayden Daniels suffered a knee injury during the win over Auburn, leaving Garrett Nussmieier to finish off the game. Now, with Tennessee rolling into Baton Rouge, Daniels’ status was in question.

Head coach Brian Kelly put to rest the speculation on Monday, saying Daniels will play this weekend against the Volunteers. He described the difference between hurt and injured, saying the quarterback was more so hurt. Even just two days later, there has already been progress made by Daniels on his knee.

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“I’ve always felt like there is a difference between being injured and being hurt,” Kelly said during an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show. “If you’re injured, our trainers are going to take care of you, they’re going to pull you out of the game. If you’re hurt, they’re going to administer the things necessary and try to get you back in the game. He was hurt but the pain level was pretty high.

“He wasn’t able to finish the game but he’s much better today and he’ll be ready to play on Saturday. That’s the nature of the quarterback, one that likes to get out and run a little bit. He’s gonna get hurt sometimes. He’s not injured and he’ll be ready to go this Saturday.”

Daniels has been instrumental for the LSU offense since transferring into the program — as both a passer and a runner. In the air, the Tigers’ signal-caller has thrown for 915 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions. Saturday vs. Auburn was not his best day though, completing eight of 20 for 80 yards.

On the ground, Daniels has averaged 5.4 yards per carry and scored three touchdowns. His season high came in the opener against Florida State, going for 114 yards on 16 carries.

Now, Tennessee will come into Baton Rouge ranked No. 8 in the country. It’s the highest-ranked non-Alabama team to play at Tiger Stadium since Florida during the magical 2019 national championship winning season. And as we know, nobody gets up for a big event like LSU fans.

Those fans will at least have their starting quarterback to cheer for on Saturday. Jayden Daniels will be going up against Hendon Hooker, setting up to be one of the best matchups of the weekend.